PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—Lodging Econometrics (LE) reports that in 2016, 842 hotels/98,990 rooms opened in the United States, the most since 2009 and up from the 736 hotels/82,094 rooms reported in 2015. According to industry wide operating metrics, supply growth was a reported 1.6 percent in 2016, slightly below demand growth of 1.7 percent, meaning that demand has exceeded supply growth for the seventh consecutive year.
LE forecasts that new hotel openings will jump to 1,111 hotels/120,372 rooms in 2017. That should equate to a 2 percent supply increase in 2017. Unless there is some reversal in declining demand trends, aggregate supply growth in 2017 will exceed demand for the 1st time since 2010.
